doorstop
"doorstop" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“doorstop” is uncommon English (frequency #78,541 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #78,541
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any device or object used to halt the motion of a door, as a large or heavy object, a wedge, or some piece of hardware fixed to the floor, door or wall.
Corpus desk
Index EN-doorstop · doorstop · English
doorstop · rank #78,541 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #78,541
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH dooms
Nearest frequency peer: dooms (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “doorstop”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- distally
distally
21,462 corpus weight
- dooms
dooms
21,461 corpus weight
- doorstop
doorstop
21,460 corpus weight
- dopa
dopa
21,459 corpus weight
- douce
douce
21,458 corpus weight
- dousing
dousing
21,457 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “doorstop” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | doorstop |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #78,541 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “doorstop” in English
Rare enough to double-check
doorstop is uncommon English at frequency #78,541 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for doorstop in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From door + stop. The correct English form is doorstop, spelled D-O-O-R-S-T-O-P.
Definition
- 1Any device or object used to halt the motion of a door, as a large or heavy object, a wedge, or some piece of hardware fixed to the floor, door or wall.
- 2A large book, which by implication could be used to stop a door.
- 3Eggcorn of doorstep.
- 4An interview with a politician or other public figure (apparently informal or spontaneous but often planned), as they enter or leave a building.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how doorstop appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Meanwhile, all the Democrats had to put forward that year was a doorstop called Man of the House: The Life and Political Memoirs of Speaker Tip O'Neill.
Walter Isaacson’s insight-free doorstop makes at least one thing clear: the richest man in the world has a lot of growing up to do[.]
Etymology
From door + stop.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "doorstop", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).